Hello all. I've been using TheJapanesePage for some time now and I figured I would finally make an account and be more involved

I have been studying Japanese on my own through books and the internet for quite some time now. (I went to Japan on a foreign exchange program in 8th grade for two weeks).

Every week I teach myself vocabulary about different subjects and try to write practice sentences using the words, but sometimes I'm not sure if my sentences are 100% correct. I would love if someone could let me know how I'm doing, better ways to word the sentences, or examples of what might sound more natural! So here's a few of the sentences I've got that I'm not sure about...

私の昨日に買った帽子を彼が捨てた。 ＝ He threw away the hat that I bought yesterday. 晩御飯を作る前にいつも手を洗います。 ＝ Before you make dinner, always wash your hands.髪の毛をとかさなければ、誰もあなたに話しません。＝ If you don't comb your hair, no one will talk to you.私は休憩をしなかったですから、疲れています。＝ Because I didn't get a rest, I am tired.どうして歯を磨かないで仕事に来ましたか。＝ Why did you come to work without brushing your teeth?

Lastly, what's a good word to use for "still", as in "Even though I overslept about an hour, I still made my bed this morning." I know you can't use 'mada' because it means 'still' as in 'yet', or hasn't happened yet.So I know this:

今朝一時間ぐらい寝過ごしたのに、まだベッドをととのえた

would be incorrect, but how could I get the idea across that I was 'still' able to do it. Is there a word like that in Japanese?

I know that was a lot of stuff, you don't have to answer all of it, but any input would be greatly appreciated

I've come across multiple ways of saying the same thing and I was wondering if someone could explain the difference (if there is any). Perhaps the nuisances are slightly different or they would be used in different scenarios, etc.

So I know you can say "must" in two different ways:～なければなりません (食べなければなりません ＝ Must eat)～なくてはいけません （食べなくてはいけません ＝ Must eat)

Are なりません、いけません、だめ、etc all interchangeable whether you use the negative -te or -nakereba?Also, Is there any difference in saying毎日ベッドをととのえなければなりません。vs毎日ベッドをととのえなくてはいけません。

One more! I have seen "to be surprised" as both びっくりします and 驚く. Any difference there?

ならない means 'unbecoming' (to not do 'verb') so it is often used in the context of responsibility and one's obligations.

いけない is the same as ダメだ and is often used in regards to the necessity of not doing something.

That's not something you need to think about though. I recommend thinking of them as the same thing; if there are any differences you will assimilate them naturally.

びっくりする sounds a bit onomatopoeic to me (or at least the word seems to represent the jolt you make in surprise) so I imagine 驚く would be preferred in a very formal situation. Again, almost always interchangeable.

ならない means 'unbecoming' (to not do 'verb') so it is often used in the context of responsibility and one's obligations.

いけない is the same as ダメだ and is often used in regards to the necessity of not doing something.

That's not something you need to think about though. I recommend thinking of them as the same thing; if there are any differences you will assimilate them naturally.

びっくりする sounds a bit onomatopoeic to me (or at least the word seems to represent the jolt you make in surprise) so I imagine 驚く would be preferred in a very formal situation. Again, almost always interchangeable.

Shizen08 wrote:お腹がすいてきたので、料理に関する単語を習いましょう。Thoughts? Does that sound natural?

I'm non-native, but that sounds like a perfectly natural phrasing to me.

The help I received said it should be...まず、お米を１カップ分量る.I've never seen 分 used as particle for measurement, is this correct?

It's not a measurement, it's a word or a suffix meaning 'amount'.'Rice in the amount of 1 cup'. I've seen it here and there before, it helps to clarify that you mean the amount '1 measuring cup's worth' and not the object 'one (drinking) cup' or even 'one' of the kitchen utensil 'measuring cup'.

It's optional, but ... I think you can see how slipping in one extra syllable to prevent misinterpretations is worthwhile here, especially when you consider that Japan is on the metric system when it comes to everyday volumes.

It's not a measurement, it's a word or a suffix meaning 'amount'.'Rice in the amount of 1 cup'. I've seen it here and there before, it helps to clarify that you mean the amount '1 measuring cup's worth' and not the object 'one (drinking) cup' or even 'one' of the kitchen utensil 'measuring cup'.

It's optional, but ... I think you can see how slipping in one extra syllable to prevent misinterpretations is worthwhile here, especially when you consider that Japan is on the metric system when it comes to everyday volumes.

I'm actually working on something that is in the works to be made into a tablet app (my main goal) but might just end up as a flash game on a website. It's like a storybook learning sorta deal, with focus on learning new vocab for learners who already know a lot of the basics. This lesson is on cooking, hence all the cooking stuff.

So I'm going to have a LOT of sentences like these that need proofing, so if anyone would like their name in the credits for helping out, that's cool with me! I just want to make sure they don't sound funny in Japanese since I tend to do more direct translations which often don't sound quite right.

Here's two more:

お米をざるに入れて、流し台で洗う. Put the rice into a colander and wash it in the sink. (originally I tried to do "wash the rice in the sink with a colander" = お米を流し台にざるで洗う but I was told that sounds odd/wrong)

炊飯器に米を入れて、１カップ分水を注ぐ。 （Put the rice into the rice cooker, then pour in one cup of water.)